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The second town on my personal Tour de France was Lille. I knew three things about Lille before I went there on the TGV on Saturday morning: the Eurostar stops there, the mayor, Martine Aubry, is the daughter of Jacques Delors, and the railway station is the old Gare du Nord in Paris which was moved stone by stone to Lille when Gare du Nord was extended.

 

After a day in Lille I know a little more about this town which feels very much like a town of the north. The architecture reminded me of Antwerp, Brugge and Amsterdam. The cleanliness of the streets, the controlled off street parking and the city parks made me think of Germany. The people with their tradition for beer, their bicycles and their longing for sunshine which meant that the terraces were all full on this sunny Saturday brought me back to Denmark.

 

I arrived at Gare Lille-Europe in the new area called Euralille. It is essential to notice that Lille has got two stations. Though the stations are not far from each other, it would be kind of stupid to miss a train because one had gone to the wrong station. Thus I arrived at the new Lille-Europe and I departed from the old Lille-Flandres. After having made sure that I knew where the old station was, I made a big circle in Lille to see as much as possible.

 

First I headed for the Grand' Place with its beautiful buildings ranging from the stock exchange (Vieille Bourse) and Le Beauregard from the 17th century to L'Echo du Nord from 1936. Then I went to the tourist office in the Rihour Palace which is from the 15th century. Heading for the Town Hall whose construction started in 1924 I passed narrow, medieval streets and had a peep at the well hidden rue des Brigittinnes. After a visit to the town hall which is in pure art deco style and where one wedding followed the next, I climbed the many stairs of the Beffroi to reach the terrace some 100 metres above the ground. The beffroi was inaugurated in 1932 and was a real technical challenge at a time when skyscrapers and reinforced concrete was not that common in France. From the terrace one can see 30 kms away, except when I was there, obviously. I walked around and around without knowing what to look at as I did not yet know Lille.

 

Then I headed for a dock called Wault, and on the way I passed the Porte de Paris, an impressive city gate from the 17th century built to celebrate the victories of Louis XIV. It seems to be a popular place to make wedding photos. Then I passed the pretty little Anglican church, which was unfortunately closed. I took a break outside the Palais de Beaux Arts which apparently has an excellent collection of paintings. At least I often see paintings borrowed from this museum when I go to exhibitions elsewhere. Finally I arrived at the tranquile dock called Wault. It has recently been renovated and is almost too clean (though the water looked disgusting). By then I had still not crossed any public toilets and thought that Martine Aubry should invest in some Parisian sanisettes and not put all the city budget into cobbled stones.... Fortunately there was a restaurant in the dock where I sat down for a drink and then had a look at the toilets before heading for Vauban's Citadelle.

 

The Citadelle, which is still military area today, is just across the river Deûle and is surrounded by a lovely, green and lush, organic parc where walkers, joggers and cyclists share the space with ducklings and wild birds. This is a wonderful place for picnics, and I had considered for one moment to buy a sandwich, but after a walk in this green paradise I returned to the cobbled stones and the rows and rows of two-storey houses before heading to a Japanese restaurent in the busy rue Royale. No moules & frites for me!

 

After lunch I passed though the pretty rue Weppes on my way to Notre Dame de la Treille, the rather modern cathedral of Lille. Works were begun in the 19th century but the new facade from the 1990ies makes the church contemporary. The gate with its small sculptures in bronze (I think) is captivating and the yellow light coming in through the rosette draws your eyes towards it. Then I headed for the last must-see on my list: the birth house of Charles de Gaulle.

 

Having been to Comlombey-les-deux-Eglises earlier this year I thought I should complete the circle by seeing the place that Charles de Gaulle was born. The museum opened in 1983, but has not forgotten its humble origins and the welcome is thus very personal and almost intimate. I followed a guided tour, which provided me with lots of personal details, but after the tour I was walking around alone in the house, as if I was visiting the grandparents of Charles de Gaulle!

 

At the end of the afternoon I headed back, slowly, to the Gare Lille-Flandres and checked out a couple of buildings and churches on my way. It seemed that most of Lille's pupulation had decided to go to the city centre for the summer sales, and the narrow streets were nearly impassable. It was a joy to see the shop windows in those oldhouses from the middleages. This is a town that lives and not a museum town. It was also the first day of the school vacation, so the train back to Paris was absolutely full. However, I barely noticed that as the newsagent in the station had tempted me with a couple of French and English novels which quickly got all my attention......

Vauban's Citadelle

Vauban's Citadelle

Detail of the door in the cathedral

Detail of the door in the cathedral

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